27 - Dorris use of the color yellow is especially poignant...

Although Christine's comment, "I didn't take precautions," refers to the fact that she didn't use birth control, it also has a deeper meaning: She's wanted for so long to be unquestioningly accepted that she rushes headfirst into her relationship with Elgin. However, now pregnant and married, she's again forced to accept that her world is anything but ideal. By the end of the Chapter, the marriage has deteriorated to the point that Elgin often doesn't come home at night after work, and when he does, "something was missing." Christine notes, "My wedding ring cut into my swollen finger." She acknowledges that "Elgin was gum on the sole of my shoe."

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Unformatted text preview: Dorris' use of the color yellow is especially poignant here in Chapter 11. Having learned that Lee is dead, Christine rushes to the hospital to deliver her child. However, when her life seems to be at its lowest, Dorris reinforces the notion of Christine's resiliency to face life's problems by swaddling the newborn Rayona in a yellow blanket. Symbolically, then, Rayona will be both the safety net that Christine so desperately needs and, at the same time, the source of much conflict and worry for her. • C&W club a country-western club. • that fish-eyed desk clerk a suspicious-looking desk clerk. • IHS the Indian Health Service Hospi...
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